Kier will design and build 224 luxury apartments in four blocks on the Thames riverside as part of the areas regeneration project that aims to deliver 10,000 homes by 2039.

Kier was chosen as the preferred bidder for the contract by Hong Kong investment firm Knight Dragon which owns the development in South East London.

The residential development near the O2 arena will be the first of 60 plots to be built in the area.

Kier chief executive Haydn Mursell said the construction would prepare the firm for future high-rise building which it expects in London.

“This particular scheme is also a testament to our high-rise development skills, which we believe will prove important in the London market as we witness a high increase in demand for high-rise schemes. "